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DAVID 


SAN  MIGUEL  CHURCH 


BANCROFT 


mbMs 

University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


SAN  MIGUEL 

CHURCH 

;  and  older  infcreslhid  information^ 
for  visitors 


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t. c/lichaels  Col 

paitla  fb         N.  Mexico 


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tsttes  tit 


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AN  APACHE  INDIAN. 


53 


Cftc  Crutb  in  Regard  to  Santa  Te  ana  Cigucx,  or 
Tigua. 


Historians  make  conflicting  assertions  about  Tigua 
and  Santa  Fe.  Some  say  that  Tigua  was  many  miles 
South  of  its  actual  location,  and  that  Goronado  was 
never  there.  Some  historians  copy  from  others.,  or 
from  certain  writers,  implicitly  taking  as  certain  all 
they  say.  We  take  it  as  granted  that  Tiguex  must 
have  been  a  large  Indian  town.  Small  Indian  towns 
could  not  exist  for  any  length  of  time.  There  were 
too  many  wild  Indians  roving  about  robbing  and  kill- 
ing. The  principal  ones  were  the  Apaches,  Com- 
anches,  Navajos  and  Utes.  Not  many  years  ago  the 
Apaches  were  so  troublesome  that  the  United  States 
fought  and  conquered  them.  Their  chief,  Geronimo, 
and  his  band  were  taken  to  Florida,  and  afterwards  to 
Oklahoma.  The  first  engraving  given  in  this  booklet 
shows  one  of  the  Apaches.  Tiguex  could  not  have 
been  situated  on  the  Rio  Puerco,  nor  on  the  Rio 
Grande.  There  are  no  Oldest  Churches  nor  Oldest 
Palaces  there,  but  we  find  a  very  Old  Church  and  a 
very  Old  Palace  in  Santa  Fe,  and  therefore  Tigua,  or 
Tiguex,  must  be  there,  and  in  no  other  place. 

Goronado  went   to  Tiguex,  therefore  he  was  in 
Santa  Fe.     Francisco  Vasquez  de  Goronado,  was  the 


Governor  of  New  Galicia,  in  Mexico,  when  Mendoza 
was  the  Vice  Roy  of  all  Mexico.  He  went  to  see  the 
Vice  Roy  and  received  authority  to  undertake  the  con- 
quest of  New  Mexico.  His  army  set  out  from  Guliacan 
in  April  1540.  Five  Franciscan  Fathers  accompanied 
them.  Father  Marcos  de  Niza  with  some  compan- 
ions not  long  before  had  gone  as  far  as  the  Gibola 
cities  and  on  his  return  had  given  such  a  flattering 
account  of  all  he  saw  that  Goronado  was  encouraged 
to  enter  New  Mexico  and  conquer  those  cities  and 
after  that  the  whole  country.  After  they  had  con- 
quered the  cities  they  discovered  that  Father  Marcos 
de  Niza  had  been  mistaken  in  his  account  of  those 
people  and  their  cities.  They  were  not  as  rich  as 
represented.  While  the  army  was  encamped  near 
the  Gibola  cities  (now  the  Zuni  Reservation)  two 
chiefs  from  Tiguex  and  Gicuye  (Pecos),  came  to  invite 
Goronado  and  his  army  to  visit  their  Pueblos.  Tiguex 
and  Gicuye  were  neighbors.  For  Indians  the  distance 
is  not  great.  Goronado  accepted  their  invitation  and 
he  sent  Alvarado,  one  of  his  Captains,  with  about  20 
men  to  see  those  Pueblos.  He  ordered  him  to  report 
the  result  of  his  visit  within  80  days.  The  report  was 
so  favorable  that  Goronado  chose  Tiguex  for  his  winter 
quarters.  The  army  reached  there  in  the  beginning 
of  November,  1540.  Tiguex  was  situated  in  a  pretty 
valley,  surrounded  by  hills  and  mountains  and  on  the 
Tiguex  river,  now  called  the  Santa  Fe.  Its  location 
was  ideal,  and  all  were  even  more  than  satisfied  with 


how  everything  had  turned  out.     Cold  weather  was 
coming  on,  and  they  needed  clothes,  provisions  and 
shelter.     There    were    several    Indian    towns     near 
Tiguex    which   the   soldiers   visited.     They   and   the 
Indians   soon   began  to    quarrel     They   robbed   the 
Indians  of  clothes,  provisions,  etc.,  and  much  provo- 
cation was  given   on  both   sides  so  that  battles  took 
place,  and  parties  were  killed  on  both  sides,  and  some 
Indian  towns  destroyed.     The  Indians  of  Tiguex  were 
expelled,  and  their  houses  taken  by  the  soldiers  and 
Tlaxcala  Indians.     As  a  church  was  badly  needed,  all 
went  to  work   with  a  will,  and  it  was  soon  ready  for 
Divine    Service.     The   Franciscans     blessed   it,   the 
Holy  Sacrifice  was  offered   up  regularly,  and  the' spir- 
itual wants  of  the   people   attended   to   with  a   true 
Christian  zeal.     Tiguex   ran  along  the   south  side  of 
the   river  for  perhaps  two  or  three  miles.     The  resi- 
dence of  the  Chief  was  in  the   precinct  called  Analco. 
The  Church  was  built  in  front  of  that  house  of  which 
Goronado  had  taken  possession   and  is  now  looked 
upon  as  the  oldest  house   in  the  United  States.     The 
residence  of  the  Franciscans  was  built   quite  close  to 
the  church. 

This  is  the  oldest  church  in  the  United  States. 
Goronado  now  made  Tiguex  the  center  of  his  opera- 
tions. Expeditions  were  started  in  all  directions,  one 
going  so  far  northeast  that  it  reached  the  Missouri 
river,  but  the  rich  cities  they  were  in  search  of  were 
not  found.  Coronado  was  so  completely  tired  out 


and  disappointed  that  he  determined  to  return  to 
Mexico;  but  his  men  were  so  attached  to  the  country 
(New  Mexico)  that  they  did  not  wish  to  leave  it.  Two 
of  the  Franciscans  offered  to  go  with  him  and  after  a 
great  deal  of  difficulty  he  persuaded  many  of  the  sol" 
diers  and  Indians  to  join  him  and  a  start  was  made 
and  they  set  out  to  return  to  Mexico,  but  history  tells 
us  that  Goronado  arrived  in  Mexico  with  only  100 
men  including  himself,  and  the  two  priests.  He  had 
taken  1100  men  from  Mexico,  and  returned  with  only 
100.  Of  the  1000  that  were  missing,  some  were 
killed,  some  died  here  and  there,  and  the  others  re* 
mained  in  New  Mexico.  Sixty-five  years  afterwards, 
when  Onate  arrived  from  San  Gabriel  with  the  rem- 
nant of  his  colony  to  settle  in  Tiguex,  he  found  it  occu- 
pied by  many  descendants  of  Goronado's  expedition. 
It  is  evident  that  had  Goronado's  men  entirely  aban- 
doned Tiguex  it  would  have  been  re-occupied  by  the 
Tegua  Indians,  or  by  other  Indians,  and  Onate  would 
have  been  obliged  to  conquer  it,  but  it  was  not  neces- 
sary. They  were  friends  and  he  received  a  hearty 
welcome. 

Onate  took  possession  of  the  north  side  of  the 
river  and  there  founded  a  new  town  which  he  called 
La  Villa  Real  de  la  Santa  Fe  de  San  Francisco,  that 
is,  the  Royal  City  of  the  Holy  Faith  of  Saint  Francis. 
It  became  the  capital  of  the  province  in  1607  and  has 
remained  so  ever  since.  A  parish  church  was 
built  in  Santa  Fe  by  Father  Benavidez  in  1627.  In 


1630  Father  Benavidez  visited  the  King  and  told  him 
that  in  New  Mexico  he  then  had  25  Priests,  90 
Pueblos  and  30,000  Christian  Indians,  and  the  Tiguex 
Church  was  left  for  the  use  of  the  Tlaxala  Indians.  It 
was  called  San  Miguel  Church  of  the  Tlaxcaltecos 
(Tlaxcalans).  Tiguex  and  Santa  Fe  since  many 
years  are  one.  Tiguex  was  an  Indian  town  hundreds 
of  years  before  Goronado  came,  perhaps  even  thous- 
ands of  years. 

It  may  be  well  to  remark  here  that  the  dates  we 
find  in  histories  and  geographies  given  for  the  founda- 
tion of  Santa  Fe  are  not  correct.  Ghamuscado's 
expedition  in  1581  had  for  its  only  object  the 
safety  of  the  three  Franciscan  Fathers,  Juan  de 
Santa  Maria,  Francisco  Lopez  and  Agustin  Rod- 
riguez, as  far  as  they  were  going,  perhaps  only  to 
Paola,  or  Puaray,  nearly  opposite  the  present  Berna- 
lillo.  There  were  only  20  persons  in  the  expedition. 
EspejVs  expedition  in  1582  was  composed  of  only  28 
persons  and  was  sent  to  search  for  the  missionaries 
left  in  New  Mexico  the  preceding  year.  Discovering 
that  they  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians,  they  soon 
returned  to  Mexico.  Neither  expedition  came  pre- 
pared to  colonize. 


Some  Tacts  of  new  Mexican  fiistory. 

The  great  Spanish  Explorer,  Juan  de  Onate  was 
the  first  colonizer  of  New  Mexico.  He  reached  the 
Ghama  river  in  September,  1598,  and  founded  the 
town  of  San  Gabriel  There  were  201  men  in  the 
expedition,  and  many  women  and  children.  There 
were  10  Franciscan  Fathers,  including  Father 
Alonzo  Martinez,  the  Commissary  Apostolic.  They 
were  well  provided  with  all  that  was  necessary  to 
found  a  colony. 

Francisco  Vasquez  de  Goronado  in  1540  came  to 
New  Mexico  to  examine  the  country  and  to  conquer 
it.  Ghamuscado  and  Espejo  came  in  1581  and  1582 
for  particular  reasons  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  colo* 
nizing  it.  It  is  true  that  many  of  Goronado's  men  re- 
mained in  New  Mexico  and  made  it  their  home.  They 
liked  the  country  and  chose  to  remain  in  it.  It 
was  they  who  occupied  Tiguex.  For  a  number 
of  reasons  Onate's  colony  was  not  a  success. 
They  gradually  left  San  Gabriel  and  were  brought 
back,  but  the  dissatisfaction  was  so  great  that  Onate 
finally  allowed  them  to  go  to  Tiguex  and  found  a  new 
town  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  They  arrived 
there  in  1605  and  began  at  once  to  build  their  houses. 
The  new  town  they  called  La  Villa  Real  de  la  Santa 


Fe  de  San  Francisco.  It  was  made  the  Capital  in 
1607.  They  found  the  Tlascala  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  very  good  neighbors.  The  faithful  and  de- 
voted sons  of  St.  Francis  remained  with  .them  to  help 
and  encourage  them.  The  people  of  Tiguex  invited 
them  to  use  their  Old  Church  as  formerly  and  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  was  offered  up  regularly.  It  again 
became  the  center  of  missionary  labors  until  in  1627, 
when  under  Father  Alonzo  Benavidez,  a  beautiful 
Parish  church  was  built  for  the  Spanish  people.  The 
Old  San  Miguel  Church  was  then  left  for  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  the  Indians  and  half-breeds.  It  was  called 
the  San  Miguel  Church  of  the  Tlascalans.  It  was 
known  by  this  name  ever  after.  From  this  circum- 
stance alone  all  recognize  that  it  must  date  back  to 
1541,  or  the  days  of  Goronado.  It  was  he  that 
brought  800  Tlascala  Indians.  These  Indians  were 
great  friends  of  Gortez,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico. 
They  were  his  allies,  and  as  most  trustworthy  they 
were  recommended  to  Goronado.  Many  of  them 
remained  in  New  Mexico  when  Goronado  returned 
to  Guliacan,  Mexico. 

Some  writers  assert  that  the  San  Miguel  Church 
was  built  in  1606  for  the  use  of  the  new  town  of  Santa 
Fe.  That  would  be  65  years  after  Goronado's  time. 
But,  why  would  they  build  it  among  the  Indians  in  the 
Indian  Pueblo,  and  opposite  the  Indian  Chiefs  house, 
the  oldest  house?  In  1680,  when  the  general  upris- 
ing of  the  Indians  took  place,  the  San  Miguel  Church 


was  partially  destroyed  and  all  other  churches  and 
convents  in  New  Mexico  razed  to  the  ground.  In 
1694  Diego  de  Vargas  repaired  the  Old  Church  and 
had  Father  Juan  de  Jesus,  killed  in  Jemez,  brought 
there  and  buried  under  the  old  altar,  which  is  in  the 
rear  of  the  present  one.  Diego  de  Vargas,  the  great 
conqueror,  died  in  the  Sandia  Mountains  while  pur- 
suing some  hostile  Indians,  in  1704.  He  was  brought 
to  Santa  Fe  and  buried  in  the  Old  Church.  His 
body  was  wrapped  in  damask  and  silk  and  put  into  a 
coffin  made  of  a  cedar  log  and  then  placed  under  the 
old  altar  made  of  adobe  and  stone,  back  of  the  present 
altar.  San  Miguel  Church  was  made  the  Parish 
Church  again  in  1694  until  the  new  Parish  Church 
was  rebuilt  in  1722.  In  his  last  will  and  testament  he 
requested  to  be  buried  in  the  Old  Church.  This 
document  may  be  seen  in  the  Federal  building  in  Santa 
Fe.  Adjoining  the  Cathedral  in  the  rear  may  be  seen 
portions  of  the  Parish  Church  built  in  1722. 

Row  tbe  Pueblo  Indians  were  Subjugated. 

The  famous  Franciscan,  Father  Marcos  de  Niza, 
was  the  first  explorer  in  New  Mexico.  The  account 
he  gave  of  his  explorations  was  so  interesting,  so  highly 
colored,  that  General  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Goronado, 
then  governor  of  New  Galicia,  went  to  Mendoza,  the 
Vice  Roy  of  Mexico,  and  got  leave  to  organize  an  ex- 
pedition to  go  and  conquer  that  wonderful  country. 


o 

o 

CD 


He  made  up  his  army  of  300  Spanish  soldiers  and 
prominent  men  of  all  walks  of  life,  and  800  Tlascala 
Indians,  the  great  allies  of  Gortez  when  he  conquered 
Mexico.  These  Indians  were  young  and  strong,  made 
good  fighters  and  powerful  carriers.  The  army  made 
its  way  through  Queretaro,  Gompostela  and  Culiacan, 
along  the  coast  within  200  miles  of  the  head  of  the 
gulf  and  from  that  across  the  country  to  the  Gibola 
cities,  now  Zuni.  They  all  expected  rich  rewards  for 
the  troubles  and  trials  they  were  about  to  undergo. 
They  had  to  fight  Indians  and  wild  animals.  The 
desert  and  broken  country  they  traversed  caused  them 
much  suffering.  Grossing  rivers  and  dangerous  places 
were  unavoidable  difficulties,  so  much  so  that  but  few 
miles  headway  could  be  made  daily,  when  travel  was 
at  all  possible.  Sickness  and  accidents  were  inevitable. 
Their  comforts  and  consolations  were  few,  but  the  five 
good  Fathers  that  came  with  them  encouraged  them 
and  helped  them  in  their  distress.  Were  it  not  that 
there  was  a  fascination  in  their  undertaking  they 
might  easily  have  turned  back.  Though  their  purpose 
was  not  to  colonize  the  country,  yet  many  remained  in 
the  country  they  came  but  to  explore  and  conquer. 

Mexico  at  that  time  was  but  sparsely  settled  by  the 
brave  Spaniards  who  came  to  make  the  New  World 
their  home.  Their  army  was  not  a  large  one  but  the 
soldiers  were  respected  and  feared.  All  the  expedi- 
tions  that  were  sent  north  from  Mexico  City  or  from 
other  towns  to  explore  New  Mexico  from  about  1580 


had  but  few  soldiers  but  they  were  conquerors.  The 
Indians  dreaded  them  at  once  and  yielded  to  them. 
In  1692  the  Vice  Roy,  the  Gonde  de  Galve,  made  a 
permanent  garrison  at  El  Paso  del  Norte.  He  sent 
315  soldiers  there  with  an  increase  in  pay.  This  post 
was  to  serve  as  a  base  for  supplies  for  all  and  as  a 
protection  for  settlers  in  that  part  of  Mexico.  It  had 
been  a  town  since  1680  but  not  a  garrison.  Ghamus- 
cado's  and  Espejo's  expeditions  all  passed  through  El 
Paso  del  Norte,  Onate's  also.  Now  that  Genera! 
Diego  de  Vargas  Zapata  Lujan  Ponce  de  Leon  had 
been  appointed  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  he  also, 
made  up  his  expedition  there. 

At  the  uprising  of  the  Indians  in  New  Mexico  in 
1680,  there  were  2400  Spanish  settlers  in  New 
Mexico,  400  of  these  were  killed,  including  21 
missionaries,  2000  escaped,  getting  safely  into  Mexico 
proper.  Many  of  the  old  settlers  of  New  Mexico 
wished  to  get  back  to  their  old  homes.  They  under- 
stood the  difficulties  there  would  be  to  get  back  but 
they  were  willing  to  risk  it.  All  were  anxious  to  help 
to  reconquer  New  Mexico.  De  Vargas  at  once  got 
54  Spaniards  and  100  friendly  Indians  to  form  an 
expedition,  and  on  the  16th  of  August,  1692,  he 
started  from  El  Paso;  50  more  men  had  been  promised 
him  but  they  were  slow  in  coming  so  he  pushed  on 
with  those  that  he  had.  The  Franciscan  Fathers,  as 
usual,  were  on  hand.  They  were  Fathers  Gorvera, 
Muniz  and  Barroso.  After  some  days  of  travel  he 


formed  a  supply  camp,  leaving  14  soldiers  and  50 
Indians  to  guard  it,  and  hastened  on  to  Santa  Fe. 

They  soon  reached  a  ruined  chapel  near  Santa 
Fe  where  Mass  was  said  and  absolution  given  to  alL 
The  Tanos  Indians  had  possession  of  the  town,  but 
before  night  De  Vargas  obliged  them  to  surrender. 
On  September  14th,  Father  Gorvera  entered  the 
town  with  De  Vargas  and  six  soldiers.  A  large  cross 
had  been  erected  in  the  square,  and  there  all  as- 
sembled. De  Vargas  then  informed  them  that  the  King 
had  sent  him  to  tell  them  that  all  the  crimes  that  they 
had  committed  against  Spain  would  be  forgiven  them 
it  they  would  return  to  their  duties  as  Catholics,  and 
renew  their  allegiance  to  Spain.  They  consented  to 
do  so,  and  the  Spanish  flag  was  again  raised  to  the  top 
of  the  pole  erected  for  it.  The  Indians  were  absolved, 
Mass  was  said  there,  and  many  children  were  baptized. 
The  50  men  from  Parral  now  arrived.  Many  of  the 
Pueblos  were  reconciled  after  submitting.  The 
Vice  Roy  was  informed  of  all,  and  Mexico  City  rejoiced, 
celebrated  Masses  and  sang  Te  Deums,  etc. 

The  prudence,  good  judgment  and  great  courage 
of  De  Vargas  had  accomplished  much  for  New  Mexico, 
but  all  would  be  lost  unless  settlers  would  come  at  once 
to  re-occupy  it.  De  Vargas  returned  to  El  Paso  del 
Norte  by  the  end  of  December,  1692.  Time  was 
rapidly  passing.  On  October  13th,  1693,  he  began  his 
return  voyage  to  New  Mexico  with  800  persons 
including  soldiers,  settlers,  and  the  Franciscan,  Father 


Antonio  and  15  others  to  help  him.  He  had,  up  to 
this  time,  lost  30  persons  by  death.  Here  the  obstacles 
and  dangers  were  as  great  as  those  Goronado  had 
coming  by  way  of  Sonora,  but  the  road  was  shorter. 
On  December  16th,  1693,  he  reached  Santa  Fe.  He 
found  the  Tanos  still  occupying  the  two  towns.  There 
were  rumors  of  dissatisfaction  and  discontent  every- 
where. Something  had  to  be  done  and  that  promptly. 
The  Parish  church  had  been  completely  destroyed  but 
the  walls  of  the  San  Miguel  Church  of  the  Tlascalans 
were  only  damaged  and  were  capable  of  being  repaired, 
but  the  Indians  refused  to  do  the  work,  or  even  help. 
Here  we  have  from  Shea,  the  great  historian  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  a  positive 
assertion  that  the  Tlascalans  had  a  church.  That 
church  must  have  existed  in  the  time  of  Goronado.  It 
was  only  Goronado  that  brought  the  Tlascalans.  Their 
church  was  in  Tiguex,  therefore  the  Indian  town 
opposite  the  town  of  Santa  Fe,  built  in  1605,  must  be 
the  Tiguex  of  Goronado.  It  could  not  have  been  on 
the  Rio  Grande  which  some  historians  call  the  Tiguex 
river.  Rivers,  mountains,  pueblos,  Indians,  etc.,  had 
only  the  names  explorers  gave  them,  and  they  varied, 
some  having  three  or  four  different  names.  The  Cast- 
rense  Church  did  not  exist  in  1710,  nor  did  any  other 
of  the  churches  claimed  to  be  old.  Albuquerque  town 
began  in  1706,  but  had  not  a  large  church.  The 
Tlascala  Indians  returned  to  Mexico  in  1680  with  the 
Spanish  settlers  when  they  all  were  compelled  to  leave 


the  country.  Shea  says,  on  page  120,  volume  1, 
(there  are  four  large  volumes)  that  Goronado  could 
not  have  remained  two  years  in  New  Mexico  without 
erecting  a  place  for  Divine  worship.  The  temporary 
chapel  at  Tiguex,  was  the  first  chapel  of  New  Mexico, 
where  during  the  two  years  occupation  Mass  was  said, 
and  the  gospel  preached  with  zeal  and  fervor  by  the 
sons  of  St.  Francis.  Father  Padilla,  effecting  great 
good  among  the  soldiers  by  his  ministry  as  Torquemada, 
a  great  writer,  declares.  Shea  declares  several  times 
that  there  was  a  church  at  Tiguex,  but  does  not  locate 
Tiguex.  The  church  at  Tiguex  must  have  been  large 
enough  for  at  least  200  or  300  people.  No  doubt  the 
Tlascalans  were  all  Catholics,  and  therefore  went  to 
Mass,  etc.  Tiguex,  Tigua,  or  Tegua,  as  it  is  variously 
called,  was  built  on  an  elevated  place,  above  the  river 
level,  beyond  danger  from  floods.  It  could  not  have 
been  built  by  the  Spaniards.  It  existed  hundreds  of 
years  before  the  Spanish  settlers  came,  perhaps  even 
thousands. 

De  Vargas  had  conquered  Santa  Fe  in  1692  but 
took  possession  of  it  but  temporarily,  so  he  was 
obliged  to  reconquer  it  in  December,  1693.  This 
time  he  had  to  fight  for  it  and  Heaven  helped  him  in  a 
wonderful  way.  He  vowed  an  annual  procession  in 
honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  if  successful.  It  is  faithfully 
carried  out.  They  fought  all  day  on  the  29th  of  De- 
cember, 1693.  On  the  morning  of  the  30th,  the  town 
surroundered,  many  of  the  Indians  were  taken  prisoners 


and  shot,  over  400  women  and  children  remained  as 
prisoners  and  became  the  servants  of  the  people.  An 
abundance  of  provisions  was  found  and  the  colonists 
were  made  comfortable. 

De  Vargas  obliged  all  the  other  Pueblos  to  submit. 
He  then  restored  the  Old  Church.  Missions  were 
started  everywhere  and  all  appeared  secure,  but 
suddenly  a  number  of  the  Pueblos  rebelled,  and  on 
June  4,  1696,  7  priests  were  killed  and  21  soldiers. 
Churches  were  again  profaned  and  torn  down.  It 
took  De  Vargas  until  November  24th,  1696,  to  re- 
establish order  in  the  Pueblos  that  had  rebelled  and 
many  prisoners  were  taken.  His  term  as  governor 
expired  at  the  end  of  1696,  and  Gubero  arrived  to 
take  his  place.  Gubero  at  once  arrested  him  and 
threw  him  into  prison  where  he  remained  till  1700, 
when  he  was  taken  to  Mexico,  to  be  tried  for  certain 
crimes.  He  there  proved  to  all  that  he  was  innocent 
of  the  accusations  made  against  him,  and  as  a  proof  of 
the  confidence  they  had  in  him  he  was  again  appointed 
Governor  of  New  Mexico  in  1703.  Gubero  fearing 
that  De  Vargas  would  punish  him  for  what  he  had 
done  left  the  country  in  great  haste.  When  De 
Vargas  returned  he  set  out  on  an  expedition  against 
certain  Indians.  While  seeking  them  in  the  Sandia 
mountains  he  got  a  fever  and  suddenly  died,  in  1704. 
At  his  request,  in  a  will  he  had  written,  he  was  taken 
to  Santa  Fe,  and  buried  in  San  Miguel  Church,  near 
the  remains  of  Father  Juan  de  Jesus,  buried  there  in 


1694.  Here  we  have.,  buried  in  Santa  Fe,  a  truly  great 
Spaniard,  a  great  benefactor  and  conqueror.  How 
can  Santa  Fe,  even  entire  New  Mexico,  ever  repay 
his  services!  There  is  no  monument  erected  to  his 
name,  not  even  a  tablet  in  the  church  which  he  re" 
erected  and  where  lie  his  remains. 


Origin  of  tbe  American  Indian. 


Who  are  the  American  Indians?  When  did  they 
come  to  America?  How  did  they  come?  They  cer- 
tainly are  not  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  nor  are  they 
people  who  came  to  America  by  way  of  the  Behring 
Straits,  as  some  writers  assert.  There  are  no  proofs 
given  for  such  assertions.  The  people  called  Indians 
are  hundreds  of  nations  and  tribes  all  speaking  differ" 
ent  languages.  They  came  to  America  thousands  of 
years  ago  as  this  paper  will  show  with  proofs  taken 
principally  from  the  Holy  Bible.  Our  first  parents 
came  from  the  hands  of  God.  They  were  given  free 
will,  memory  and  understanding  for  their  own  good 
and  for  all  those  who  were  to  come  after  them.  They, 
however,  forgot  God's  kindness  to  them  and  did  just 
what  he  told  them  not  to  do.  Their  descendants  con- 
tinued doing  wrong  and  got  so  wicked  that  God  de- 
termined to  destroy  them  excepting  only  the  Patriarch 
Noah  and  his  family,  who  were  pleasing  to  him.  He 
kept  them  to  repeople  the  earth.  He  told  Noah  to 
build  a  large  vessel  (the  ark)  to  make  it  300  cubits 

19 


MBHMBB 


E 
Z 


O 

C 


long  (450  feet)  50  wide  and  30  high,  to  divide  it  into 
three  stories  and  each  story  into  many  compartments, 
some  for  his  family  and  the  others  for  all  the  animals, 
birds,  etc.,  that  he  wished  to  save.  This  took  place 
about  1650  years  after  the  creation.  It  took  Noah 
100  years  to  build  the  ark.  When  it  was  finished 
God  sent  into  the  ark  seven  pairs  of  each  of  the  ani- 
mals called  clean,  likewise  of  the  birds  and  creeping 
things,  also  two  pairs  each  of  those  called  unclean. 
Noah  and  his  wife,  their  sons  Sem,  Cham  and  Japhet 
and  their  wives,  then  also  entered  it.  God  then 
closed  the  Ark  on  the  outside.  It  then  began  to  rain 
for  forty  days  and  as  many  nights.  All  living  beings 
outside  the  Ark  perished.  The  waters  of  the  deluge 
rose  until  they  were  fifteen  cubits  higher  than  the 
highest  mountains,  including  even  the  volcanoes  if  any 
then  existed — some  of  them  were  perhaps  extinct  and 
others  would  become  so  and  break  out  again.  There 
are  now  in  existence  over  200  active  volcanoes  and 
not  far  from  oceans  and  seas.  Some  say  that  all  the 
water  in  existence  would  not  cover  the  highest  moun- 
tains. They  forget  that  God  is  omnipotent,  were  he 
but  to  tilt  the  earth  a  little  to  one  side  the  oceans  and 
seas  would  suffice  to  cover  the  whole  world.  The 
rain  that  fell  was  incessant  and  heavy.  May  it  not 
have  come  from  some  of  those  planets  and  atmos- 
pheres that  are  much  larger  than  ours.  It  is  true 
they  are  far  away  but  God  could  easily  remedy  that. 
We  do  not  understand  how  it  was,  but  we  know  that 

21 


the   water  was    there.     The    surface    of  the   earth 
proves  it. 

Fossils  are  found  almost  everywhere,  even  on 
mountains,  which  proves  that  water  at  one  time  cov- 
ered all  the  earth.  The  Ark  was  carried  about  going 
in  all  directions  for  about  a  year,  and  finally  rested  on 
Mount  Ararat,  in  Armenia,  Asia.  The  waters  of  the 
deluge  were  so  violently  moved,  as  it  were  churned, 
that  they  became  very  muddy,  so  that  when  they  set- 
tled, mud  covered  some  places  to  the  depth  of  many 
feet,  and  buried  all  that  had  been  living  before  the 
deluge  and  made  them  fossils  unless  for  a  good  rea- 
son, it  could  not  be  done.  Some  travelers  not  many 
years  ago  visited  Mount  Ararat  and  found  some  of 
the  remains  of  the  Ark,  so  they  reported.  Not  long 
after  another  party  went  there  and  the  report  was 
confirmed.  When  the  waters  had  sufficiently  sub- 
sided God  permitted  Noah  and  his  family  to  leave  the 
Ark,  then  all  the  animals,  birds  and  creeping  things 
were  given  their  freedom,  so  that  starting  on  their 
way  as  soon  as  possible,  they  might  reach  the  coun- 
tries they  were  destined  for.  As  at  that  time  all  the 
continents  were  closely  connected  by  the  fabled,  or 
rather  real  continent  of  Atlantis,  between  Europe, 
Africa  and  America,  or  perhaps  by  other  lands  un- 
known to  us.  The  animals,  birds  and  creeping  beings 
destined  for  America  went  there  overland — they  could 
not  have  reached  there  by  water.  Advancing  grad- 
ually on  their  journey,  feeding  on  the  rapidly  growing 

22 


vegetation,  they  at  last  got  to  their  homes.  They 
may  have  passed  through  Asia,  and  crossed  over  to 
America  by  way  of  the  Behring  Straits  but  the  con- 
ditions there  must  have  been  different  from  what  they 
are  today.  At  that  early  period  there  may  have  been 
plenty  of  vegetation  in  that  northern  region,  so  that 
the  animals,  birds  and  creeping  things  could  find  food 
in  abundance,  where  now  there  is  only  snow  and  ice. 
When  Noah  and  his  family  left  the  Ark  they  at  once 
sought  suitable  locations  for  their  homes  and  they 
began  to  plant  and  to  sow. 

The  human  race  soon  became  numerous  and 
built  a  large  city,  Babylon.  Near  that  city  they  were 
building  an  immense  tower,  the  Tower  of  Babel.  They 
had  reached  a  great  height  in  their  work,  but  they 
were  suddenly  compelled  to  leave  it  unfinished.  All 
were  speaking  strange  languages  and  not  one  under- 
stood the  other.  Till  then  all  had  spoken  but  one 
language,  that  of  Adam  and  Eve,  given  them  by  the 
Almighty  himself  in  the  Garden  of  Paradise.  God 
now  gave  the  people  many  languages  to  be  used  all 
over  the  world.  They  did  not  understand  each  other 
and  so  were  forced  to  separate  and  seek  homes  else- 
where and  repeople  all  the  earth.  All  languages  are 
derived  from  these.  It  is  only  God  who  can  invent 
languages.  They  may  be  made  more  comprehensive 
in  various  ways — adding  words  or  syllables  prefixed  or 
affixed,  taken  from  other  languages,  etc.  Marks  or 
signs  used  to  express  thought  are  not  languages. 


Languages  are  learned  and  taught  with  much  labor. 
Those  who  had  received  languages  for  Asia  set  out 
for  their  future  homes  where  they  were  to  found  tribes 
and  nations.  They  were,  as  it  were,  led  by  God,  or 
their  angels,  and  did  not  go  astray.  Those  for  Africa 
and  Europe  also  started  on  their  way  and  safely 
reached  the  places  destined  for  them  and  there  they 
founded  their  nations  and  tribes.  God  had  prepared 
people  to  settle  a  part  of  the  world  where  no  one  had 
ever  lived,  that  is  America.  Hundreds  of  nations 
and  tribes  were  to  occupy  that  wonderful  country.  As 
those  people  all  spoke  different  languages  they  would 
be  obliged  to  travel  in  families,  which  very  probably 
they  did.  They  traveled  overland  following  the  route 
that  the  animals,  birds  and  creeping  things  had  taken 
several  hundreds  of  years  before.  As  all  those  crea- 
tures had  wonderfully  increased  and  vegetation  was 
abundant,  food  was  found  everywhere.  They  rested 
on  their  journey  whenever  and  wherever  they  pleased 
and  then  as  if  led  by  God,  or  by  angels,  they  at  last 
reached  their  homes  there  to  found  nations  and  tribes. 
Many  of  these  people  still  exist,  some  of  them  died 
out  completely,  some  may  have  joined  other  tribes, 
and  others  were  exterminated  in  wars.  The  conti- 
nent of  Atlantis  and  perhaps  other  lands  that  con- 
nected Europe  and  Africa  to  America  disappeared 
hundreds  of  years  before  the  Christian  era.  It,  or 
they,  sank  into  the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  ocean  cur- 
rents were  established  and  America  became  as  we 


find   it   today,  completely  surrounded   by   water.     It 
may  be  seen  from  what  has   been  said  that  the  people 
commonly  called  Indians  came  to  America  about  4000 
years  ago.     It  is  so  long  since  they  came,  that  it  is  no 
wonder  that  they  do  not  know  when.     They  can  only 
say,  "We  growed   here — came  out  of  the    ground/' 
They  wrote    no  history  and  have    no  tradition.     Their 
features  tell  us  that   they  are  principally   Mongolians. 
Some  of  them  may  be  descended  from  Cham  and  oth- 
ers   from   Japhet.     Nearly    all  of  them   have   broad 
*  faces,  high   cheek   bones,  oblique    eye-lids,  straight, 
black  hair  and  thin  beards.     Their  dark   copper  color 
comes  from  the  pigment  in  the  human  skin  which  time, 
climate  and  other  conditions  cause   one  complexion  to 
change    to    another.     Fright,    sickness,    in-door    or 
out-door  living  may   cause  this  pigment   to  act  on  the 
actual  color.     The  Egyptians,   Phoenicians  and   Gar- 
thagenians  and  other  people  trading   along  the  coasts 
of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  were  sometimes   carried 
by  storms  to  America,  where  they  had  to  remain  and 
join    the   Indians,    and   be   Indians.     Through   these 
may  have  come  the  Mayas,  the  Peruvians,  the  Aztecs 
and  the    Toltecs.     Specimens  of  their  work  may  be 
seen  in   Peru,  Yucatan  and  Mexico.     Mounds,   forti- 
fications, etc.,  may   be  seen  here   and  there  made  by 
others.     Those    who   were     cast    on   the    shores   of 
America  in   time  forgot   their  languages,    just  as    we 
find  it  happening  today.     People  from  all  nations,  who 
come   to  America,   North    or  South,  to   make   their 


homes,  drop  their  native  language  and  adopt  that  of 
America.  Their  riches,  arts,  trades,  etc.,  enrich 
America. 

Long  ago  there  were  stone-cutters,  sculptors, 
builders  and  those  who  lived  in  cliffs,  but  they  were 
perhaps  exterminated  or  died  out  and  no  others  took 
their  places.  Some  of  our  Indians  make  blankets, 
weave  cloth,  and  make  pottery.  Some  build  houses 
of  mud  blocks  of  all  sizes.  The  Pueblo  Indians  (town 
Indians)  of  New  Mexico,  build  their  houses  of  adobes, 
(sun  dried  bricks.)  They  generally  build  around  a* 
large  open  space,  close  together  with  few  or  no  open- 
ings on  the  outside.  In  former  days,  when  the  wild, 
or  nomadic  Indians  frequently  attacked  them,  they  en- 
tered their  houses  only  from  the  top.  Some  of  their 
houses  are  built  three  or  more  stories  high,  somewhat 
like  terraces.  Pueblos  are  also  built  on  high  rocky 
places  almost  inaccessible;  the  houses  are  then  built 
of  stones,  laid  in  mud  and  plastered  with  mud.  Gyp- 
sum is  used  for  whitening  walls.  Pueblos  are  often 
built  in  groups  for  protection.  These  Indians  plant 
and  sow.  They  raise  corn,  beans,  squashes  and 
pumpkins,  since  many  years,  also  wheat.  The  wild 
Indians  live  in  tents  covered  with  skins  of  wild  ani- 
mals, others  in  all  kinds  of  shelters  made  of  branches 
of  trees,  grass,  leaves,  etc.  In  the  north,  of  ice,  snow 
and  even  in  underground  rooms. 

In  the  north  where  there  is  no  wood  for  fuel,  fish 
oil  is  used.     Where  gold,  silver,  copper  and  precious 


stones  were  found,  they  made  ornaments  which  they 
wore.  Their  axes  and  hatches  were  made  of  very 
hard  stone.,  as  also  their  arrow  and  spear  heads. 
Knives  and  fish-hooks  were  made  of  bone.  Their 
bows  and  arrows  and  spears  were  of  very  hard  tough 
wood,  and  strong  enough  to  kill  the  largest  animals. 
Ordinarily  they  led  a  quiet  peaceab'e  life,  but  if  their 
passions  were  aroused  they  waged  a  terrible  bitter 
warfare  to  either  conquer  or  be  conquered.  Their 
cooking  was  very  simple  and  was  done  on  hot  stones 
or  in  the  embers  of  their  camp  fires.  They  had 
medicine  men  to  look  after  their  sick,  and  carried  out 
peculiar  ceremonies  when  burying  their  dead.  The 
Indian  women  carried  their  little  ones  on  their  backs 
while  at  work,  and  carried  water  on  their  heads  in  jars 
or  vessels  made  of  hides,  as  they  do  in  many  coun* 
tries  even  now.  The  men  provide  for  their  families 
by  hunting  and  fishing  and  give  their  children  an 
Indian  training,  and  protect  their  tribes  from  their 
enemies.  All  take  a  part  in  their  Indian  sports,  par* 
ticularly  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Those  who 
commit  crimes  are  sometimes  punished  with  death. 
Indians  have  ideas  of  God  and  of  the  happy  hunting 
grounds,  but  many  are  superstitious. 

Indians  are  also  the  children  of  God.  Our  Lord 
died  for  them  as  well  as  for  us.  Many  of  them  may 
be  saved  in  some  way  unknown  to  us.  God's  ways 
are  most  wonderful,  who  can  comprehend  them! 
When  Columbus  reached  America  he  was  received 

27 


kins 


by  the  Indies  (Indians)  as  he  called  them,  thinkin^ 
that  he  had  reached  some  part  of  India.  We  ought 
now  more  than  ever  to  admire  this  noble  race  of 
people.  The  Almighty  sent  them  to  America  to  pre- 
pare it  for  us,  thousands  of  years  ago.  Those  who 
remain  of  this  primitive,  simple  people  deserve  our  re- 
spect and  protection.  Our  dear  country  is  not  un- 
mindful of  them.  It  protects  them,  gives  them  homes 
and  provides  for  them.  The  church  of  God  looks 
after  their  salvation  by  sending  them  missionaries  to 
help  them  to  reach  Heaven.  Their  languages  are 
composed  of  but  few  words,  because  their  wants  are 
not  many.  Let  us  pray  for  the  Indians,  honor  them, 
and  treat  them  kindly. 

Ijistory  of  the  Oldest  Bell,  Shown  to  Ulsitors  to  San 
eburcft,  in  Santa  Te,  n.  m. 


The  Usher  of  the  Oldest  Church  shows  visitors  the 
old  Spanish  Bell  and  relates  many  interesting  facts  about 
it.  Visitors  are  invited  to  ring  it  and  examine  it 
thoroughly.  Its  clapper  was  made  in  Santa  Fe  and  is 
quite  heavy.  In  ringing  bells  instead  of  striking  them 
they  are  usually  swung;  this  one,  however,  is  not 
swung.  Old  Mission  bells  are  generally  struck  from 
the  outside  with  stones  or  some  other  hard  substance. 
On  the  upper  portion  of  the  Old  Bell  there  is  a  crown 
because  it  was  cast  in  a  kingdom  (Spain.)  It  is 
suspended  from  a  frame-work  by  a  rawhide  rope  made 

28 


in  1862.  The  old  rope,  made  many  years  before,  had 
become  too  weak  and  had  to  be  removed.  The  rope 
is  passed  through  the  crown  to  suspend  it.  In  1862 
the  Bell  looked  as  old  as  it  does  to-day.  It  was 
brought  to  Santa  Fe  about  the  year  1712  by  the  Ortiz 
family,  who  had  come  to  make  their  home  in  the  New 
World.  They  built  their  residence,  and  chapel  for  the 
Bell,  quite  close  to  where  Mr.  Leo  Hersch  has  his 
store  (1910)  on  San  Francisco  street.  Many  years 
ago  when  the  chapel  was  torn  down  the  Bell  and 
paintings  were  stored  away  for  safe  keeping.  In  the 
^forties"  they  were  brought  to  the  Parish  church  and 
used.  Mr.  Simon  Delgado  was  then  the  owner  of  the 
Old  San  Miguel  Church  and  he  claimed  the  Old  BelL 
It  was  adjudged  to  him  by  Court  and  he  brought  it  to 
his  church,  where  it  has  been  in  use  since  1848. 
When  he  sold  the  Church  the  Bell  went  with  it.  The 
Bell  is  made  of  copper,  silver,  iron  and  a  little  gold.  It 
weighs  780  pounds  but  is  no  larger  than  the  Independ- 
ence Bell  at  Philadelphia.  Bells  cast  in  1356  were 
very  thick;  this  one  is  nearly  4  inches  thick.  All 
admire  its  silvery  tone  and  many  remark  that  bells 
made  to-day  have  a  harsh  jarring  sound  compared 
with  this  Old  Bell.  Its  musical  tones  from  top  to 
bottom  cause  visitors  to  say  that  it  is  a  chime  bell. 
Only  Spanish  bells  were  cast  as  thick  as  this  one  and 
with  the  clapper  hanging  through  an  opening  on  one 
side  of  the  crown  as  may  be  seen  in  this  bell.  There 
are  Spanish  bells  in  Australia  and  in  the  Philippines 


THE  OLDEST  BELL  IN  AMERICA. 

It  was  cast  in  Spain  in  1356.      Its  surface    is  very  rough.      Smooth  bells   are 

not  old.     Is  in    Santa  Fe  over  200  years.      It  may  be 

called  a  chime  bell. 


made  in  the  15th  and  16th  centuries,  same  tones  and 
size,  but  no  opening  in  the  top,  In  the  fourteenth 
century  bells  when  cast  were  so  rough  that  combs  etc., 
had  to  be  taken  off  and  defective  places  repaired  before 
they  could  be  used.  This  had  to  be  done  to  this  belL 
For  want  of  vent  holes  the  molten  metal  bubbled  and 
cracks  made  in  the  sand  filled  with  the  molten  metal 
made  defects  which  had  to  be  corrected.  The  legend 
"San  Jose  ruega  por  nosotros,  Agosto  9  de  1356, 
"St.  Joseph  pray  for  us,  August  9,  1356"  was  cast  on 
the  bell.  Looking  at  the  bell  standing  directly  in  front 
of  it  and  reading  the  inscription  on  it  would  lead  some 
persons  to  imagine  it  to  be  1856.  In  order  to  read  it 
correctly  it  is  necessary  to  stand  to  one  side  of  it  then 
the  date  1356  is  clearly  seen.  After  the  fourteenth 
century  Spanish  bells  were  made  without  the  opening 
for  the  clapper.  No  bells  were  made  in  New  Mexico 
in  1856.  It  would  then  have  been  impossible  to  make 
so  large  a  bell.  It  would  require  a  very  large  furnace 
and  a  fierce  fire  to  melt  over  1000  pounds  of  mixed 
metals.  It  would  moreover  have  been  made  for  the 
Parish  church  and  not  for  a  chapel,  and  others  like  it 
would  have  been  made.  As  far  as  can  be  ascertained 
there  is  no  bell  like  it  in  America.  A  few  small  bells 
were  made  in  New  Mexico  in  1855  but  they  were 
made  of  a  poor  alloy,  with  sand  in  them,  and  porous, 
they  each  weighed  less  than  200  pounds.  An  old 
lady  85  years  old  (1912)  saw  them  casting  four 
small  bells  in  1855,  in  front  of  the  old  Parish  church. 

31 


She  knew  the  sponsors.  She  knows  the  Old  Bell. 
The  metals  used  in  making  the  Old  Bell  are  of  Spanish 
origin. 

A  noted  Spanish  priest  seeing  the  Bell  exclaimed: 
"That  is  one  of  our  old  Spanish  bells,  there  are  still  a 
few  of  them  in  Spain/'  Bell  makers  do  not  hesitate  a 
moment  in  declaring  it  a  very  old  bell.  All  acknowledge 
it  to  be  a  wonderful  Bell  and  just  as  represented.  It 
is  now  used  only  for  exhibition  purposes.  Another 
bell  announces  the  services  held  in  the  Church. 

One  of  the  late  presidents  of  St.  Michael's 
college,  who  came  to  Santa  Fe  in  1870  and  held  his 
position  for  35  years,  heard  old  people,  who  were 
young  men  in  1850,  speak  about  the  Old  Bell.  They 
rang  it  when  they  were  boys.  He  was  so  positive  that 
it  is  an  old  Spanish  bell  that  it  pained  him  to  hear 
anybody  say  that  they  did  not  believe  it.  An  old  lady 
who  died  less  than  two  years  ago,  1909,  knew  all  about 
the  Old  Bell.  She  often  saw  it  and  heard  it  ring.  She 
was  more  than  80  years  old  and  often  explained  how 
difficulties  had  arisen  regarding  it.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  explanations  here  given  will  be  amply  sufficient 
to  prove  that  the  Bell  is  really  what  it  is  represented 
to  be. 


1 


